It was very hot this past week, and my mother never owned an air conditioner. I put a bucket of ice in front of the fan in the window and a few of us took turns putting wet towels on her arms, legs and face. Soon before she fell asleep for the last time she sang a short funny lyric. I laughed and asked her what it was from. She said Oklahoma, and I googled it.

"He's lookin' oh so purty and so nice
He looks like he's asleep,
It's a shame that he won't keep
But it's summer and we're running out of ice."

She died the next day; after a crisis that we were told was probably more painful for us than for her.

Jane Edenbaum, née Klingel
Nov 1 1928-June 11 2005.

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The music is Rosalyn Tureck's performance of the Aria from The Goldberg Variations. My mother had been playing Bach for the past 30 years -my earliest memories were of Debussy, Satie and Scott Joplin- and Tureck's performances were favorites. Her father bought her a baby grand for her 5th birthday, picking it up in a local department store in Minneapolis. She replaced it a few years ago with a Yamaha, donating the old one to a local high school.
If anyone around Portland Maine is interested in a 10 year old grand piano (under 6') with a good sound and in excellent condition, drop me a line.